Street Rats
by DoubleMMia
Summary: Post Reaper war Miranda finds herself helping the refugees as best as she can. Her job becomes more complicated however once she runs into a group of duct rats and she has to choose between this new longing of desire and the loyalty of the remains of C-Sec, Miranda/Kasumi


**Street Rats  
**_Post Reaper war, Miranda finds herself helping the refugees as best as she can. Her job becomes more complicated however once she runs into a group of duct rats. Miranda/Kasumi_

* * *

**M**iranda wasn't used to working in what she privately called a dump-site – considering that was what London was effectively known as now due to the aftermath of the Reapers – however after three weeks of it she has to admit the work of helping Citadel refugees as well as others was actually quite satisfying.

It wasn't the life she had imagined herself to be living after the Reapers but back then even she had to admit she had some ideals that she now considered childish, however now that was in the full swing of things she could actually start to understand why she was choosing to stay in this part of London rather than move on with the rest of the old Normandy crew.

In the end only herself and Kasumi decided to stay behind – though with Kasumi it was for obvious reasons, reasons that made Shepard smile secretly to herself as she was wheeled away to be checked over by Chakwas and reasons that made Miranda roll her eyes with a strange sense of affection.

Bailey had appointed her and the thief to looking after the refugees they could find and setting up refugee camps in major points of London, a church near the road Miranda walked on right at this moment was one of the larger refugee camps herself and Kasumi had managed to set up, however the largest (that held nearly a thousand refugees) was Big Ben.

It was where Miranda was heading now with her jacket packed to the brim of rations suitable for both levo and amino individuals, not a particularly nice choice of food for these poor people but what other option did they have?

Either they ate or they starved and there was nothing Miranda could do about a few complaining citizens apart from ignore them, because she wasn't going to waste any attention on them when other people needed her help desperately despite Bailey's insistent chattering that if she could help them calm down then by god he expected her to do just that.

Miranda had snorted in response whilst Kasumi had quickly tried to cover her tracks by making promises the former Cerberus operative didn't plan to keep, a nice thought of the thief she supposed but this was war and Miranda was a soldier and not someone's nurse maid.

Perhaps this bitterness she still felt gnawing away inside of her was because she had not had the chance to contact Oriana ever since the Reapers defeat at the hands of Shepard? It would explain why she refused to handle barely adult women with hair as black as midnight and eyes as bright as cerulean waves, would explain why she let Kasumi handle them with the excuse that the master thief was more 'charming' and 'charismatic' than Miranda was.

A rustling sound from around the corner made Miranda freeze and reach for her Locust that was strapped around her waist, her hands squeezing the handle of the submachine gun with such intensity she felt the air crackle and fizz around her as her biotics flared at the very feeling of the dangerous aura that had started to surround her.

Flashbacks of her father holding her sister hostage still made Miranda shudder in disgust and anger, that situation being the thing that pushed Miranda forwards around the corner with her eyes narrowed, her biotics strained from her ability to hold back and her gun pinpointed onto a target of…

"What in god's name…" Miranda said with a breathless little whimper escaping the back of her throat and her gun dropping to the ground immediately at the sight in front of her.

The rag-tag group in front of her was the strangest thing Miranda had ever seen, all of them at least under the human years of ten, all covered head to toe in soot and all of them looking up at her with a strange sense of wonder.

Her eyes fall upon the young turian male who looked at her through dark eyes with his plates twitching constantly at the sight of her, a movement Miranda assumed to be fear along with a sense of pride that came with nearly every damn turian in this universe; pride probably being the only thing that made sure the young turian didn't bolt in the other direction and abandon his companions.

He looked remarkably like Garrus with the same tattoos and markings but Miranda doubted he was related to the calibration-loving turian and remarked it as a coincidence, letting her eyes leave the shirtless turian to settle onto the small asari girl that clung onto his bony right arm.

The blue of her scaled skin had taken a turn of actually being a sickly grey colour that settled in quite nicely with the dust and debris that threatened to overcome a building structure behind the group, however what Miranda noticed about the asari girl was her chocolate brown eyes that sparkled into an amber colour the very moment the sun hit the very light of her eyes.

She shied behind the turian boy the moment Miranda took a hesitant step forward, her brown eyes shutting tightly in fear whilst she buried her head in the nape of the turian's plated neck with a little scream that made Miranda stop in her tracks and for ice to lodge its way in her throat.

The scream had not been the only thing that had made Miranda stop, for what she saw tied to the asari girl's back made fireworks seem to erupt from within her and with her own small gasp of horror she watched with disquiet as a small gurgle came from the cotton blanket that the asari girl had fastened up and over her shoulders.

At that the turian boy took a step forward, shrugging the asari off arm to glare hatefully up at Miranda who he no doubt saw as someone who either was going to drag him away from the rest of his group or do him some serious harm, both Miranda was not going to even attempt to do even if Bailey had instructed her to try and separate the children of different species into one category; just to make it easier he had said, making it easier be damned Miranda had thought sulkily back.

"Leave us alone you dirty fruna!" The turian boy yelled at her with his back ram-rod straight in an attempt to look as intimidating as possible whilst he yelled his turian slur at her in a manner Miranda could only take as vile, not that she could blame the boy considering him and his fellows had been separated from other species in fear of a breakout between each other. "We weren't doing anything around here! We just want to be left alone, you got that?"

Miranda tilted her head to the side as she tried to analyse the turian dialect with as little time as possible before the boy decided to try and run away; fruna…Where had she heard that before? Had Kasumi taught her a few bits about it during their time together? It would explain why the word was so eerily familiar…

_Oh.  
_  
He had called her a whore; nice, she didn't even want to know why a boy of this young age even knew what a whore was though if he did have parents then it could mean that they were very free in telling their son whatever the hell he wanted to…

Again, oh.

They were duct rats, it suddenly all made sense on why the turian, the asari and whatever was in that cotton bundle was covered in soot and why they both looked starved that it seemed that one simple mention of food would have them collapsing on the floor.

With that Miranda tried her best to suppress a rant on why they weren't in the shelters with the rest of the refugees and instead forced a smile to appear on her face, a very hard thing to do considering she hadn't felt like smiling properly since a whole year ago and that thought alone was extremely depressing even for her.

It was why she wasn't entirely surprised that in return to her smile the turian only swore angrily at her again.

"Now there isn't any need for that, I'm not here to harm you or your friends." Miranda tried to reassure the turian with her hands held just a little above her waist, typically designed as a surrendering motion that she hoped the boy would take seriously. "I'm just here to make sure you and your friends are alright, that's all I want from you."

The small asari behind the turian slowly started to edge her way forward towards Miranda's encouraging smile, her brown eyes a bright sparkle of chocolate that made the former Cerberus operative shudder at how it all of a sudden felt as if she was looking into the eyes of an asari version of Kasumi Goto; which probably explained why she all of a sudden felt her mouth dry up at how utterly lost the asari girl looked.

"Don't listen to her Lara!" The turian boy called out to the still nearing asari girl, moving towards the asari girl's arm to tug it back until she was pulled back into his plated chest. "You remember what the other guy said? Said he would shoot our legs in if we came anywhere near him, how do we know she won't do the same thing?"

The asari girl shot him a glare over her shoulder. "But he told us he would do that to us! She didn't! She didn't say anything! How do you know she'll hurt us anyway?"  
The alien turned to look at her then with her lower lip trembling. "You won't hurt us will you lady? We haven't done anything wrong, honest we haven't."

Miranda took this as an opportunity to finally drop her hands by her side and to shake her head as a negative for the still shuddering asari girl, wishing more than anything that Kasumi was here just because she could more than likely assure these children more than Miranda could even if she tried.

"I don't want to hurt you no," Miranda told the asari girl and the turian boy with her chin tilted up high to give a brief look over at the bundle that was still wrapped around the asari girl's shoulders. "But why are you out here? Why aren't you in the shelters with all the others?"

This time the turian boy answered before the asari girl could, stepping past her with his clawed hands pointed up at her accusingly and his mandibles twitching each time he spat his words of venom at her. "Because we don't trust anyone in there, that's why! You stupid officers thinking you can protect and feed us all, well we know you're all liars! Don't we Lara?"

With that Miranda didn't even bother to cover the snort that escaped her, rolling her eyes and repressing her smirk of annoyance as much as she could when she saw the young turian look up at her in shock. "And where, may I ask, is this evidence you have that shows us officers for the deceitful bunch we are?"

She knew it wasn't a clever idea to mock and push at the children but she can hardly help it when she hears such ridiculous things like that now can she? Even if this little bit of selfishness is actually not selfishness at all but plain childishness.

The turian boy reacted the way Miranda knew he would, his arms flailing and his voice screechy whilst the asari girl retreated back behind him with her doe eyes glancing over at her from behind the turian's shoulder.

"I just know alright?" The turian screeched as he took another step forward, his talon jabbed towards her threateningly. "Our friend Gus didn't come back after those humans took him and we all know what happens to duct rats like us that are taken off the street! Forget it! I'm not going nowhere with you or any human that offers!"

Miranda felt something hollow dig deep within herself then at the mention of what she believed to be known as 'snatchers', the people who took it upon themselves to snatch children and adults alike of every species for tests on how to unlock the Reapers mind-control and understand the different barriers that each specie had in protection against something like the Reapers; it was an experiment herself and Bailey had been trying to put down the very moment they had heard from these snatchers and their demand for flesh and so far it hadn't been very successful.

However she knew if she didn't get these kids off the streets soon enough then that demand for flesh would become even more of a lustful sating than the kids realized, and Miranda was not about to let that happen to anyone.

What the hell would Shepard do if she was in this sort of situation with kids? God damn it, for someone who had wanted children of her own since what felt like forever Miranda honestly did not have much expertise when it came down to them, in fact it seemed like one of her largest strengths was a thing far, far away from looking after kids.  
What would Shepard do? What would she do god damn it?

"I'm sorry for what happened to your friend and for that reason alone I can understand why you won't want to come with me, so I won't force you," Miranda said with genuine sympathy for the group of duct rats in front of her although she knew herself that if she was being truly honest then she would admit that this was just another subtle way of giving up the battle to then win it using her own gnarled way. "But understand me that I have to ask you to let me see what's in that sheet of cloth, just to make sure you're not carrying anything dangerous."

And as if the turian boy couldn't become even more irritated this time Miranda had the opportunity to see him actually explode in rage, stomping his feet angrily whilst he covered the asari girl with his body to protect the white bundle that was wrapped around her back.

"You're not taking Eloise away from us!" He snarled with his mandibles twitching even more violently than before, an effect Miranda really hadn't wanted to have on him. "We found her and me and Lara are going to keep her! We don't need some fruna trying to steal him away from us just because she thinks she's so high and mighty!"

It would have been a very convincing display and would have more than likely coloured Miranda impressed if it hadn't been broken by a loud wail from the sheets, a loud, _human_ wail that made Miranda damn the consequences immediately and make her way forward until she stood just above the asari and turian to stare down into the white, cotton sheet the cloth offered.

A tiny, human hand reached up from within the sheet to make a grab at Miranda's nose, missing by inches as the former Cerberus operative moved away with her brow furrowed in concentration and disbelief on how the hell they had managed to hold onto this baby for so long without anyone noticing whatsoever, it was all a bit mad if she was honest.

"She's just hungry that's all," the turian protested with his eyes glued to the floor by the time Miranda allowed her gaze to sweep over him. "B-but she'll be fine when we go find some food that's right for her so we don't need your help, so we'll carry on now because…"

The asari girl finally pushed away from him with a glare on her face, instead turning her attention back onto Miranda with her big, brown eyes fluttering in a way that made Miranda shudder at how similar they were to Kasumi's. "Please lady, have you got any food we could feed her? You're human, you could help us right?"

"Lara, shut up!" The turian boy complained however was shut up almost immediately when the asari girl's elbow propped outwards to connect with his chest, effectively silencing him to a barely audible gurgle.

Miranda could help them, she realized after a few moments of staring at them both with a dumbfounded expression on her face, sure she could help them but that would require telling Bailey who they were, where she had found them, what she planned to do with them like she had to do with every other damn refugee she found in this flea-bitten hell hole of London.

And to take them home with her? That was breaking several regulations of Bailey's obviously (not) well thought out list of rules that herself and Kasumi had looked at maybe once before they had chucked in the bin, mostly because Kasumi was a thief for crying out loud and to have a book of rules and laws seemed to be more humorous to the thief than life-changing.

"I have an idea," Miranda told them all eventually after much lulling of the idea over and over in her head. "Follow me and don't look behind you, I'll have you all fed before I go report back to Bailey."

* * *

**"H**ey, you're a bit early aren't you?" Kasumi greeted Miranda with a small smile, looking over at her from over her shoulder as she finished up on fixing the armoured sleeve of one of her cloaking devices. "I thought Bailey had wanted you to go visit the other sanctuaries? Hope you haven't been…"

She trailed off at the sight of the two people that had accompanied Miranda, arching a brow from beneath the hood and causing Miranda to clear her throat in the way she did when it really was not the time for Kasumi to question what was going on.

But the thief did anyway. "Alright, when did you start picking up little refugee kids? Did you run out of pennies or something?"

That at least made the asari girl giggle behind Miranda's back which in return made the former Cerberus operative roll her eyes, because of course Kasumi would be able to charm the pants off someone by just opening that abnormally large gob of hers and god damn it she knew from experience.

"I'll have you know…" Miranda started to inform the thief with a smile that let Kasumi know she was close to treading on very thin ice. "That I've been busy trying to get these children to come with me for something to eat and before you ask, no, Bailey doesn't know they're here and no, I don't plan to tell him."

In reply Kasumi mockingly placed her hands up in the air as surrender, "hey no arguments from me! In fact it's nice to see you breaking some rules Ms Lawson, very attractive if I may say so myself!"

Miranda restrained herself from flushing or doing anything which others would regard as inappropriate by sniffing the air in disinterest, eyes fluttered shut so she could miss the smirk behind the hazelnut eyes presented to her.

"Well I try, but carrying on…" Miranda moved to the side then, gesturing with her head for the turian boy and the asari girl to move over the threshold. "Lara and…"

"He's called Clavio," Lara offered helpfully, smiling over at the turian boy who in return let his mandibles twitch in irritation at his name being given without his permission. "Oh and don't forget Eloise! You said you'd help look after her!"

"And I _will_ help look after her," Miranda responded as she shut the door, sealing away the dirty streets from her own gaze and instead using this opportunity to kneel down next to the asari girl and unwrap the bundle from around her back as carefully as she could. "As I said, these two will be staying with us for a while just until I find somewhere to put them without alerting the-"

"Snatchers, I know." Kasumi interrupted with a uncharacteristic snort of disdain and a morose pout that made her lips curl downwards in the most unpleasant fashion. "No wonder you want them to stay with us, well fine, but I don't have any rations left for amino foods so I hope you have some to supply Claviscus."

"It's Clavio," the turian boy grumbled, moving from one foot to the other whilst Miranda stared down at him with her left eyebrow arched in amusement at the sight. "And we're not staying here, we only came here for some food and then we'll be gone."

Kasumi shot Miranda a look, what had been a frown on her face now an immediate smirk. "Little charmer isn't he?"

Miranda couldn't even repress her smile this time and had to hide most of it behind a carefully placed hand, made to look like she was merely brushing away something from her lips.

The asari girl known as Lara however had taken over most of the situation, shoving the gurgling human baby into Miranda's arms to then turn and hit the turian boy over the head with her palm; the reaction being that both Miranda and Kasumi watched the ordeal with their eyes transfixed on the wailing and raging of the asari girl and the now slumped turian.

"Well you can go Clavio if you want to end up the same way as Gus!" Lara told the young turian boy, shoving him harshly by the shoulder whilst her eyes welled up with emotional tears that threatened to spill down her blue cheeks. "Why can't you accept the fact that you aren't a leader no matter how much you want to be? The only thing you're leading us to is despair!"

Again Kasumi shot Miranda a look before she carefully took the older woman by the wrist, leading her into the little kitchenette that separated them from the arguing twosome that had silently quietened down to angry whispers, something that both of them were grateful for considering the look of relief on each other's faces.

"I have to say…" Kasumi said, trailing off as she opened up the refrigerator to open up a milk carton for the oddly silent baby in Miranda's arms. "You really know how to pick them koi, no really, you do seem to pick the bundles of joy and everything."

Miranda rolled her eyes in reply, taking the fresh milk away from the giggling thief's hand and slowly tipping into a plastic mug with her eyes trained solely on the blonde curls that draped the baby's face as though the little girl was a little cherub.

It would explain the deep blue eyes and the angelic face that seemed to curve into a heart shape, something that Miranda immediately felt herself softening towards as she brought a hand up and under to stroke at the soft, delicate skin of the baby girl with the smallest of smiles inching its way onto her lips.

The dull ache in her chest was just another reminder on why Miranda had distanced herself from children in general, knowing one could not have something they desperately yearned for did put a damper on things despite the many times she attempted to push the bitterness away; it's a topic that is delicate between herself and the thief in a way that means Kasumi tried hard not to bring it up in case she upset Miranda.

The effort touched Miranda, it truly did, but it was really not worth getting upset over as she had assured the thief many times before with her hands, lips, body, voice, mind and soul; an assurance that slowly became more and more truthful until Kasumi had merely nodded in agreement to whatever Miranda had to say on the topic.

"Hey kids me and Miranda are just going to make you some…" Kasumi started to tell the still squabbling children in the background, though to Miranda she could hardly keep up with the words, too lost in the blonde ringlets that framed the girl's face like a tiny halo.

It startled Miranda slightly how much she found herself wanting, wanting this child, wanting to never let it go, wanting to never ever tell Bailey about her discovery this evening lest he take this opportunity away from her when Miranda so urgently wanted it to last.

The moment didn't last, she hadn't expected it to last, broken by Kasumi's hand brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear and drawing her attention back to the master thief with her brow furrowed in confusion at the simple touch.

"We can't." Kasumi told her with her hand then coming downwards to squeeze comfortingly at her wrist, comfortingly and pitying and both Miranda cannot find herself standing still to, having to fidget instead to try and get into that comfort zone she had not been in for the past two years.

With a sigh that made her whole body shake with exhaustion, Miranda placed the baby girl into Kasumi's arms whilst her eyes refused to leave the little bundle that squirmed and cooed for the milk that the former operative had placed on the shelf, not truly understanding why all of a sudden everything felt so uncertain.

The look between them was something that made Miranda swallow the lump in her throat, regarding the exit where they could now see the whispering asari girl and grumbling turian boy wedged into a corner with their heads together with a look of longing, something which made both of them ache for two different reasons.

Miranda couldn't stand being in this stiffening silence any longer and so did the first thing that came to her; she turned and started to make her way back out of the kitchenette towards the slumped asari and turian, a hand reaching outwards gently curve around both of their shoulders as she knelt down to their height.

Lara, the asari girl, smiled at the touch – just as Miranda had expected her to do so – whereas Clavio, the turian boy, allowed his mandibles to once again twitch in disdain at her foreign touch – again, just as Miranda had expected – against his plated skin.

"Come with me," Miranda softly urged them both with her cerulean hues scanning their faces for each reaction available. "I'll get you both some new clothes to wear, that and run you a bath."

"I don't smell." Clavio interjected with a huff that made Miranda feel as though she was dealing with someone not completely able to believe that they were being ridiculously difficult.

"Try being on this side!" Lara responded before Miranda could, poking her tongue out at the turian boy and whacking him on the shoulder again with a good natured slap.

Miranda wasn't truly used to the humour of the situation but she smiled good-naturedly anyway for their sake alone, getting up from her kneeling position and leading them both down a corridor towards the bathroom that she, herself, had recently placed in their lodging; a desperate measure one could argue once they were told how Miranda had not had a bath for what felt like a whole month.

It was a selfish commodity, but lately Miranda had gotten used to being a selfish person and taking what she wanted – with reason of course – without asking, it was why she was constantly in and out of Bailey's make-shift office with Kasumi trailing behind her.

"Is that woman a spy?" Lara's voice managed to knock her out of her daydream, causing Miranda to stop in front of the bathroom door to stare at the asari girl with her lip curled upwards into a smug smirk at the term used for her friend and lover. "I mean the hood and everything is sorta creepy."

"I think it looks sorta cool actually," Clavio protested with a tone of voice for the first time that didn't sound as though he was trying hard not to punch someone in the face. "Besides you said we ought to be nice to them and here you're saying her hood is creepy, just shut up Lara."

The asari girl actually did find it inside her to shut her mouth then, looking meekly up at Miranda as though one word would be the thing that would make the brunette woman  
lash out in anger and frustration; neither of those things being anywhere close to how Miranda felt at this moment in time.

As an alternative Miranda simply gestured for the asari to step inside, pushing the door open with the palm of her hand and reaching out with her biotics to grasp at the girl's shoulder in an attempt to push her through the threshold, even giving the asari a small smile of reassurance when Lara looked back with uncertainty in her dewy eyes.

"It's fine, just go ahead and run the bath," Miranda told the asari once more, half wondering when she would have to stop smiling and another half of her wishing that she did not have that much of a heart than she let on and let the happy, warm exterior fall to pieces. "I'll try and find you some spare clothes, come and find me once you're done so your dinner doesn't go cold."

"Okay, thanks…" Lara trailed off with a sheepish expression, obviously just realizing that for the whole time herself and Clavio had been in Miranda's company they had not once asked for her name.

"Miranda," Miranda told her with a small nod.

She turned her back on the asari before she could say anything considered foolish to make her way back towards the living room she had left, looking behind her once to see that Clavio was slowly coming up behind her with his face set in the usual scowl she had started to become used to once she took into account that was the only other expression she could remember when it came to him.

"Tell me about Gus," she demanded without any sense of regret for bringing up what she knew to be a hard topic when it came to the young turian boy, it was why she had brought him back in the first place, or so she told herself before she became too attached for her own good. "You said he was taken away by the Snatcher group that's been rumoured around in this part of London, do you know why?"

Clavio looked at her darkly in reply, speeding ahead until he came into the living room they had both been heading towards and throwing himself into the nearest corner with his legs tucked under his plated chin, a look of complete and utter disdain on his features the moment Miranda halted just beside him with her fingers tapping up a rhythm against her thigh to ease the apprehension she felt.

Miranda was on her fourth set of beats and rhythm when Clavio finally spoke to her, his angry little voice reaching new heights that it made Miranda step back as a wave of guilt washed over her.

"Does it really matter why? He's dead and that's it, like everyone else around here." Clavio spat with a hacking cough following soon after, making his body tremble so feverishly fast that it made Miranda feel even more terrible at how she found herself rooted to the spot – unable to help. "Everyone's dead or we're all going to die, just like Gus said because Gus is always right and that's all I'm saying."

Miranda didn't know what possessed her, but soon enough she had taken another step forward and then another until her back was also pressed against the wall Clavio had taken shelter upon; allowing herself to slump down the wall with her heels clipping at the fine wood of her floor until the only thing that broke the silence between them both was the low screeching sound of her heels against pine.

She could relate to what the boy was saying – as much as it killed her to say or think so – because she had thought the exact same thing once upon a time, just before she had met up with Shepard again on the Citadel for the first time since the blonde commander's trial; it had been a time where Miranda had hit rock bottom and to her surprise the only solace had come in the form of Kasumi Goto, the one person Miranda had been sure she wouldn't see again.

And that was when the most complicated part had happened to her, something Miranda was still not a 100% comfortable in admitting to: Kasumi Goto had saved her life in more ways than one and now it was Miranda's turn she supposed to change Clavio's bleak outlook as best she could.

It did not mean (not for one second) that she was going to be any good at doing just that.

"Have you got some sort of injury?" Miranda asked with her head tilted to the side, meeting Clavio's dark eyes with a clash of light blue as if their connection was a bang of lightning hitting the dark abyss of a whirlpool – indestructible and oh so powerful. "Did you bang your head perhaps? Internal bleeding maybe?"

Clavio looked at her as though she had grown another head. "Uh, I don't think so."

"Well you aren't malnourished and you're safe with me here…" Miranda continued with a little bob of her head as she weighed up her options, wondering silently if this was how Kasumi would have handled it before deciding she really didn't care because this was how _she_ was going to handle it. "So I have come to the conclusion that you are nowhere near death and will be fine for the very least another week."

The small turian boy didn't say anything then for at least another minute, the silence caused Miranda to feel even more on edge than before and it took everything not to bolt into the kitchenette to see what Kasumi was doing and to keep her mind off everything; but that was failure and Miranda did not believe in failures, especially when it came to herself.

A sharp pain to her side made Miranda's head snap to the side to see that not only had Clavio moved closer to her but he had also angled his head to the side, tilting it so that the right side of his face was pressed gently up against her shoulder and again his little body was curled up so tightly due to the tension within his bones that this time Miranda could not help but let out a soothing wave of biotic power to caress his overwrought plates.

And then a sound, not like any sound Miranda had ever heard before, came from the turian boy's mouth with such inconsistency that soon enough she discovered that the boy was sobbing from his breathing alone; a discovery that made every bone in Miranda's body to ache with a grief she had grown used to as though greeting an old friend every morning when she woke up.

Miranda did not believe in giving false hope or false securities because she knew most of them were just pure lies meant to assure for a few moments, a few moments of peace and quiet and solitude yet she had learnt from the best that sometimes these false securities were needed. Like now.

It explained why she was all of a sudden stroking the poor boy's face with pale, lithe fingers that kept getting caught on the rough edges of the turian's plates; another reason for her fingers to become more calloused than before no doubt.

She cooed against his cheeks, shushing him as best as she could with her arms wrapped around his shoulders to hold him closer to her as he sobbed; clawing at her with the intention of holding onto something that wouldn't disappear or get snatched out of sight before he could prevent it – a feeling Miranda understood well, too well.

"I-I don't want anyone else to get snatched away like Gus did," Clavio whimpered softly with a shake of his head. "Gus didn't need to get snatched if he had listened to me, but he didn't listen just because he wanted to impress Lara and now…"

This time he looked up with such fright in his stare that it felt as if Miranda had just been slapped repeatedly around the face.

"You're going to take us to that Bailey person aren't you?" He whispered his question, which to Miranda felt more like an accusation but who she was to question the boy when he was in this shoddy state? "Please don't! We've heard that kids are still getting taken regardless of where they are, please, we don't have to stay here, we can move with someone else or…"

"Nobody will be going with Bailey today," Miranda interrupted with a hand being pressed over the turian's mouth - if that was what it was, she had never been excellent when it came to alien anatomy. "Or any other day for that matter, for now you'll stay with me until I can find you somewhere safe."

"Nowhere is safe! The Snatchers will always be here because Gus…"

And again Miranda interrupted by pressing her hand down even harder against the boy's mouth, silencing him immediately until all she could hear was small mumbles.  
"Clavio," Miranda started with what she hoped was the most reassuring expression ever on her face, "trust me when I say myself and Kasumi will not let any harm come to you as long as you stay within these walls. This I promise you."

It took a few more moments of stroking the distressed turian's face for him to eventually calm down and even then he pushed himself away from Miranda and turned his face to the corner of the wall, mumbling a low sound that suspiciously sounded like the word 'thanks'.

Miranda took that as her cue to leave the turian be, getting up from her position and patting him affectionately on the shoulder before she made her way towards the kitchenette; surprised to see Kasumi was already there with Eloise in her arms and a fond smile on her face that made Miranda's stomach flip upside down.

"What?" She whispered to the thief after a brief moment of awkward silence, crossing her arms and changing her stance so that she was just that little much taller than Kasumi. "Why are you looking at me like that for?"

_Again with that smile_, Miranda thought with a sulky pout that she hid behind a well-practiced expression of pure nothing, _that thief will one day get stuck smiling.  
__  
_Kasumi laughed and pressed a kiss to her cheek, bumping her hip against Miranda's own with a smug look on her face. "You are my favourite you know?"

"Is that so?" Miranda answered with an arched brow of amusement, eyes scanning the sleeping baby's face in Kasumi's arms for half a second before they flickered back onto the vortex of sinful chocolate. "And what have I done to make you all of a sudden so happy?"

"Koi you've just adopted three kids and haven't even flipped Bailey the finger yet," Kasumi told her with that little mischievous tone in her voice which often made Miranda's voice go raw with absolute desire in the most embarrassing fashion. "Seriously you're my favourite; you even made Claviscus cheer up! Sort of."

Miranda refused to correct the thief and instead brushed a single digit down her face, smiling softly.

Maybe one day she would become Clavio's favourite too, for there was a certain appeal to having a street rat as someone to protect in these dark times.

* * *

_ Written on the mass effect kinkmeme, that and because I fear I'm really starting to love Kasumi/Miranda to an almost horrible amount. -not even sorry-._


End file.
